Cuboid-metatarsal arch support



May25,193?. w. c. BURNS 2,081,474 i CUBOID-METATARSAL ARCH SUPPORT A Filed oct. 2s. 1935 wmlsss A'ITDRNIYS Patented May A25 1937 v'Laurus PATENT OFFICE Zmaims.

This invention relates to supports fr the cuboid and metatarsal bones and is designed to be worn within a shoe for the purpose of strengthening the muscles on the outside of the foot underneath the cuboid and fifth metatarsal bones, the present invention being an improvement upon the support disclosed in Patent No. 1,728,780 granted to me September 1'7, 1929.

The p 'object of ,the present invention is to provide a support having a pad preferably of soft rubber extending across the support and increasing in width from back of the rst metatarsal or big toe to the nfth metatarsalior small toe joint where it attains its greatest width. whereby the pad carries more weight under the ilith metatarsal than it does under the nrst metatarsal. f Y

A further object is to provide a device of this character in which a pair of soit rubber or like pads are disposed underneath the euboid and the interal cuneiform bonepthe former pad being oi greater thickness than the latter pad to carry more weight than the latter, the latter pad being a. non-weight carrying pad and functioning 25, merely toprevent the foot from pronating or turning inwardly.

With the above and other objects in view the invention consists of certain novel details of construction and combinations of parts hereinafter 3G fully described and claimed,`it being understood that various modications may be resorted to within the scope of the appended claims without departing irom the spirit or sacricng any of the advantages of the invention.

In the accompanying drawing forming part of this speciflcation,

Figure l is a bottom plan view of a support constructed in accordance with the invention, a

position of the support.

Figure 2 is a vertical sectional view through the shoe with the support shown therein in side elevation, and a portion of a foot being illustrated to show the position of the metatarsal and the cuboid pads.

Figure 3 is a longitudinal sectional view taken on the line 3--3 of Figure 1 showing the perforations for weakening the support along the longi- 5'0 tudinal center line to permit the support conforming readily' to the shape o! the foot.

Figure is a cross sectional view taken on the line 4 4 of Figure 2, and showing the position of the cuboid and the internal cuneii'orm pads,

55 and portion of a foot being shown to illustrate the (ci. ses-'in Figure 5 is a perspective view of the support' .constructed in accordance with the invention.

Figure 6 is a top plan view, drawn to reduced scale, of the support showing the hump therein.

Referring now to the drawing in which like 5 characters of reference designate similar parts in the various views, l0 designates the body of the support which is in the nature of a leather` insole to be worn inside a shoe to occupy a position within the heel 'portion and to extend tor- 10 wardly beyond the metatarsal bones of the foot. The edge of the insole is skived or beveled all around the margin of the insole, as shown at il in Figure d, and the front marginal edge is beveled or sklved at a more acute angle than the remainder of the insole, as shown at i2 in Figure 3. Furthermore, the support is reduced in thickness from a point in rear of the metatarsal bones, as shown at i3, to the heel portion it of the support to provide a hump i5 underneath the metatarsal bones, and to provide a thin highly ilexible medial portion i6 of the support extending from the hump It to they marginal edge of the heel portion. This fiexible portion is rendered still more exible by perforations il formed therethrough so that the human foot may de- Viorm the support so that the longitudinal edges Il will be elevated beyond the medial portion oi.

the support by pressure of the foot and permit the support to conform to the curvature of the foot much in the same manner that an imprint of the foot in sand or other mashable medium will conform to the contour of the bottom of the foot. The skived or beveled front portion of the support is extremely fieinble. and is readily depressed by the pressure of the toes to conform to the contour of the toot in front oi and below the metatarsal bones. The hump I5 extending transversely across the support underneath the metatarsal arch of the foot serves to support the weight of the foot and it will be observed that the hump is somewhat the shape of a crescent in outline and conforms to the curvature of the metatarsal arch in a horizontal plane. 'Ihe hump is narrow underneath the second metatarsal bone, as shown in Figure 3, andgradually increases in width to the edge of the'support underneath the fth metatarsal bone, or little toe bone, as shown in Figure 2.

In further carrying out the invention a pad I8 of rubber or other yielding material is disposed on the underneath face of the support directly below the hump I5. The pred is of uniform thickness throughout and conforms in outlinefto the curvature of the crescent shaped hump. The pad is comparatively narrow at the end portion which underlies the second metatarsal bone and gradually increases in width to the outer edge of the sole, the widest portion consequently being dise posed underneath the iifth metatarsal bone. The pad I8 and the hump I5v coact in supporting the weight of the foot so that the toes are relieved of the pressure which usually causes metatarsal trouble. Since the width of the pad and the hump increases toward the outside of the foot, that is, toward a point underneath the fifth metatarsal bonefthe pad and the hump carry more weight back ofthe fifth metatarsal bone where nature has provided "more muscles than back of the rstmetatarsal bone where there are Afew weight supporting muscles.l A

In nature the heel of the human foot is intended to hold the foot from slipping but the weight is intended to be carried on the muscles in front of the heel under the cuboid bone. Accordingly v in further carrying out the invention a pad I9 preferably formed of rubber or similar resilient (material, is -disposed on the underneath face of the support I0 to underlie the cuboid bone. The pad I9 is substantially semi-circular in outline and preferably is greater in thickness than the metatarsal arch supporting pad I8. As a result of this construction the heel of the foot is causedv to sink in the heel portion of the support while thepad elevates the cuboid arch underneath the cuboid bone.

In further carrying out the invention a pad 20 of resilient material such as rubber is disposed on the underneath face of the support opposite the pad I 9 and this pad is of less thickness than the pad I9 so that the weight of the cuboid arch will be supported upon the pad I9 rather than upon the pad 2li. 'I'he primary purpose of the pad 20 is to prevent the-'foot' from pronating or turning 40 inwardly. The pads I9 and 20 coact in elevating the cuboid arch in front of the heel and thereby permit the heelgto sink into the'heel portion Il of the support whereby the heel can perform the function intended by nature. that is, to hold the foot from slipping while at the same time the pads 60 arch back of the toes whereby the toes are relieved of weightbearing function as is intended by nature.

It will be particularly pointed out that the pad it does not carry weight because the pad is beveled to a feather edge from the outer edge to the inner edge whereas the pad i9 retains its fuil thicmess except for a short bevel around its inner edge'.

It will also be pointed out that the reason why' the pad I@ carries more weight under the fourth and fth metatarsals is because at this particular `locality it' is wider than under the iirst, second and third metatarsals. f

FromA the above description it is thought that the construction and operation of theinvention will be fully understood .without further explanation.

What is claimed is: 1. A cubold-metatarsalA arch support comprising, an insole, a crescent shaped pad increasing in width from end to end on the insole and havingl the foot.

2. A cuboid-metatarsal arch support comprising, an insole, a crescent shaped hump on the insole tapering in width from end to 4end and hav-- ing the wide end disposed at the outer edge of the insole, a resilient pad on the hump conforming in outline to the outline of the hump, a substantially semi-circular resilient pad on the insole having I its straight edge disposed on the outer edge of the insole, and an elongated pad having a curved edge confronting the curved edge of the rst named pad and having a`l straight edge disposed on the inner edge of thejinsole, said pads being disposed opposite to each other near the rear end portion of the insole and being spaced from eachother, the insole being perforated between the last named pads to 'increase flexibility of the insole,` said last named pads being adapted to underlie the cuboid bone and the internal cuneiform bone and simultaneously elevate the cuboid arch an prevent pronating of .the foot.

, WILLIAM C. BURNS. 

